UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA GY 402: Sedimentary Petrology Lecture 22: Reefs Instructor: Dr. Douglas W. Haywick
Last Time Shelves Definition and a bit of history Factors controlling shelf sedimentation Carbonate Shelves
Continental Shelves By definition: shelves are: oceanic environments characterized by moderate water depths (10m to 150/200m) in which a variety of shallow marine and moderate depth facies occur http://faculty.gg.uwyo.edu/heller/sed%20strat%20class/sedstrat%207/sedstrat7.html
Continental Shelves We currently recognize 6 types of shelves (5 of which are depositional ). 1.Siliciclastic/detrital (sand, silt, clay) 2.Biogenic (carbonate sediment, shells, etc.) 3.Residual (in situ weathering of rocky substrates) 4.Volcanic (recent volcanic rocks) 5.Authigenic (chemical precipitates like glauconite, phosphate, dolomite) 6.Relict (which we will now ignore) Time does not allow us to examine all these types of shelves, so we will only consider the first 2.
Factors influencing shelf sedimentation Six factors are recognized as influencing shelf sedimentation. The last three are designated as biggie factors. 1) Sea level fluctuations (controls distribution of relict sediments, barrier reefs etc.) 2) Animal-sediment interactions (modifies the substrate) 3) Chemistry (produces authigenic minerals) 4) Type and rate of sedimentation 5) Climate 6) Type and intensity of shelf hydraulic regime ( energy ) Biggies
Continental Shelves Hydraulic regime Three dominant processes are responsible for transporting, reworking and sorting sediment on shelves (including relict areas). 1) Tide-dominated shelves (17% of pericontinental shelf areas) 2) Ocean current-dominated shelves (3% of pericontinental shelves) 3) Storm-dominated shelves (80% of pericontinental shelf areas) We will only consider tide- and storm-dominated shelves
Tide-dominated Shelves Macrotidal environment (+/- 4m tides) Induces strong bidirectional currents Produces elongated bedforms (ridges) From Reading (1975)
Storm-dominated Shelves HCS (hummocky cross-stratification) From: Harms et al. (1975) From Walker and James (1992) Remember HCS? http://course1.winona.edu/csumma/images/sedstrux/hcs8a.jpg
Temperate vs Tropical Carbonate Shelves http://www.pal.uni-erlangen.de/uploads/pics/cwcabb3.jpg Chalk Board
Carbonate Shelves Area: 700 x 300 km Depth: 0 m to 200m (mostly < 3 m) Tongue of Ocean: 3500m deep Mesotidal (2 to 4 m tidal range) Also storm-dominated 3.5 to 4 m of Recent sediment Sedimentation rate 1000mm/1000yrs From Bathurst (1975)
Carbonate Shelves The Grand Bahama Bank can be divided up into a series of facies. The type depends on your discipline. Lithofacies 1) reef (reef + coralgal) 2) oolitic (oolite + grapestone) 3) mobile oolite 4) mud From Bathurst (1975)
Today s Agenda Reefs Types of reefs Reef facies/characteristics Reef growth
Coral Reefs Reefs are biochemical sedimentary rocks consisting of corals and other calcite and aragonite-secreting organisms
Coral Reefs They come in several varieties: 1) Barrier 2) Fringing 3) Pinnacle 4) Atolls
Coral Reefs Atolls are isolated coral reefs that form on shelves or in much deeper water
Coral Reefs Atolls are isolated coral reefs that form on shelves or in much deeper water
Coral Reefs Usually have lots of in situ framework facies
Coral Reefs James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p but with lots of holes in which to find sediment
Coral Reefs Reefs are a type of sedimentary environment and as such, are characterized by distinct facies Basic Reef Facies James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs But as biologically-produce facies, expect to see bioinfluences on facies character (e.g., coral morphology zonation) James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs Coral reefs (e.g., GBR) also record sea level changes particularly with respect to mineral variations James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p Chalk Board
Coral Reefs Past studies suggest that reefs go through 4 stages of growth linked to sea level change: James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs Lastly, reefs have not always been part of the rock record James, N.P., 1984. Reefs. In R.G. Walker, (ed) Facies Models (2 nd ed). Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1., 317p
Coral Reefs And aragonite has not always been the dominate mineralogy of corals http://www.unc.edu/~jries/research.html
Upcoming Stuff Homework 1) Moscow Landing trip! 2) Write 6 (ML background) due today Lab this Week Non skeletal Limestones Friday 4:00 PM depart to Moscow Landing
GY 402: Sedimentary Petrology Lecture 22: Reefs Instructor: Dr. Doug Haywick dhaywick@southalabama.edu This is a free open access lecture, but not for commercial purposes. For personal use only.